SPACES OF INITIATION
Objects, Images, and Rituals in the Middle Ages

March 11–13, 2019

Dear friends and colleagues,

The members of the Centre for Early Medieval Studies at the Department of Art History would like to cordially invite you to the conference entitled Spaces of Initiation. Objects, Images, and Rituals in the Middle Ages, which will take place in the Hans Belting Library from the 11th to the 13th March 2019.

This international conference wishes to explore spaces of initiation from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages and beyond. Not only baptism, but also other initiatory experiences (consecration to monastic life, to priesthood, or to bishopric) are addressed with a focus on the interaction between visual culture, architectural space, and ritual. How the various elements of these complex mises-en-scène interacted with each other and shaped the process of initiation is one of the main interests of the conference.